I'm toasting on the 16th birthday of my (and many other's) favourite game; Dynasty Warriors 3. I've been playing this game for so long that I can't remember when I started. The only thing I remember is that I've always played on the same Xbox and with the same controller (which nearly broke, luckily my dad repaired it). I've been playing ever since I was a small kid. I don't know why my parents allowed me to play this, but I'm very grateful to them.

My interest for ANYTHING China related came from this game. It's done a lot for me. Today I'll be playing the hardest stage on the hardest difficulty with the first character I've ever played with, Xiahou Dun.

Here's to many more years of Dynasty Warriors 3 (I'm counting on you to survive for some more years, Xbox).

Cheers!

''Do not do evil because it is a small evil; do not leave undone a small good because it is a small good'' - Liu Bei

Good job. I don't have my ps2 anymore unfortunately but you got me to watch some gameplay on youtube just for the nostalgia.

It worries me how little the games seem to have really developed. I'd have thought by now that Empires would at least let you choose where to deploy your officers and given you your own unit of men to follow you into battle. Not to mention officers used to have subordinates of their own rather than every officer being an equal below the commander.

I know the games have improved in some areas, story telling in particular, but looking back I can't help but think more could have been achieved.

Lost wrote: I know the games have improved in some areas, story telling in particular, but looking back I can't help but think more could have been achieved.

You're defenitely right about that one. I don't mind it that much, probably because DW3 is my favourite and all the other's aren't that different. I'm afraid for the new combat system in DW9, I love the DW3 system and those who're a lot like it.

''Do not do evil because it is a small evil; do not leave undone a small good because it is a small good'' - Liu Bei

One of the things about DW3 that is notable when compared to other games of the series is how effective musou recharge is. A high Elixir makes characters like Pang Tong and Gan Ning beyond dangerous, making dropping to critical health and fighting evasively/blocking a completely viable strategy. Congrats on the powerful Elixir!

As of four days ago I have finished step one of my three steps to fully finish Dynasty Warriors 3. All characters are now maxed out. Step two includes getting the final four items to their max. Lastly, step three includes finishing every campaign on very hard. Hopefully I will be able to finish this year! Dynasty Warriors 3 is still the game I enjoy the most and I would never stop playing if I had the choice .

''Do not do evil because it is a small evil; do not leave undone a small good because it is a small good'' - Liu Bei

Where did you get that Elixir? Seems like You Ting is where I got the best Elixirs and Wind Scrolls....

He Fei Castle Wei side on Hard/Very Hard is the toughest stage in the game in my book. Wu starts right in your area and have a seemingly endless amount of soldier comes in, and even with Red Hare you can't ditch the front line to take out gate captains because your army will die off. You can't go in the courtyard because archers come to mess things up, so you have to choose one side of the courtyard. The other side will begin to fail so you may have to head over there. But I have had many times playing through that level where I have basically been down to my guy and the leader (Cao Cao or Sima Yi). Fun times. Some Wei characters are certainly harder to use than others - Xu Zhu probably being the toughest. It'd be a lot easier if Cao Cao or Sima Yi would stay up in the castle on the top level where they are when you fight Wei! But of course they have to run to the front lines.

I will say that Wu Zhang Plains with Xu Zhu is extremely tough with all the archers in that level. You pretty much have to use the Bow Defense item (Nanman Armor?). One cool thing about Xu Zhu is if you have the Elixir and he's in danger health, you can use the musou and have him lay on the ground and re-charge it . Problem is with his 4th weapon, he has a musou max adder of +88 which actually hurts you because it takes longer to fill up.

The newer games have more stages and far more features, and to be fair I haven't played 7 or 8 much, but the gameplay on DW3 far surpasses the others that I have played.